


Altercation

by Psijay



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, Pre-Slash, SteveTonyFest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 23:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psijay/pseuds/Psijay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony can't seem to stop fighting. They find a solution.</p>
<p>Written for the 2013 SteveTonyFest Secret Santa, for winterstilinski on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Altercation

"It isn't proper protocol, Tony," Steve said, voice deceptively calm. "Someone could've gotten--"

Iron Man's faceplate snapped up, revealing Tony's tense frown. "I knew no one would get hurt. Do you really think I would've done it if I thought someone would get hurt?" A smirk flashed across his face for a brief second. "They don't call me a genius for nothing, Steve. I don't know why you can't seem to get that." He turned on his heel to walk away, and the armor fell from him as he went, reassembling neatly in its base.

Steve squared his jaw. Tony always seemed to play the genius card when Steve got angry at him, as if his IQ was supposed to excuse all his faults. "I don't understand why you feel the need to endanger the whole team like that. There were plenty of other options, and I'm sure a genius could see that."

Tony scoffed. "You must've been fighting a different battle, Cap. That was the only way to end it before someone actually _did_ get hurt. If it had kept on going, at least one of us would've done something stupid, and they'd pay for it."

" _You_ did something stupid."

Tony turned back to face him, smiling widely. "Ah, but I'm not paying for it! I'm fine, you're fine, the team is fine. Everyone's okay. The only consequence I see right now is you chewing me out."

Steve gritted his teeth. "You were lucky, and that's the only reason no one got hurt."

"If you say so, Cap." Tony retreated further into his workshop at a leisurely gait, leaving Steve to simmer alone.

"You're impossible," Steve grumbled, mostly to himself.

Tony tossed up a wrench, watching it spin before snatching it out of the air. "You say that, yet here I am," he singsonged, a cocky grin on his face.

Steve shook his head and stalked away.

He wasn’t sure why he and Tony clashed the way they did. It seemed every little thing with them became at least a minor altercation, no matter what. Team movie night? Steve and Tony were fighting about what to watch. In a battle? Steve and Tony were disagreeing about strategy. Sitting around the tower with nothing to do? Steve and Tony were bickering about something, without fail.

There’s no real reason for their constant fighting. They were both smart men; smart enough to know that squabbling would get them nowhere, yet they kept on looking for things to fight about.

Sooner or later, it would become dangerous, and Steve had no idea what to do about it.

* * *

 

"Do not say a word," Tony said through gritted teeth.

Steve raised his eyebrows, but remained silent.

The Hulk stood where Bruce had been just seconds before, half naked, confused, and getting angrier by the second.

"Not one word," Tony growled. "I don't want to hear anything about how I should've seen this coming, or that you tried to warn me, and Bruce tried to warn me, and J.A.R.V.I.S tried to warn me. I don't need you to tell me that Bruce and untested tech don't mix, and I--"

Hulk snarled, and Tony shut up.

"Why metal man make things blow up by Hulk?" the giant commanded.

Tony glanced at Steve, the question obvious in his expression, and Steve smiled. "I can't help you. I'm not allowed to say a word about all this."

Tony scowled, but before he could argue, Hulk poked him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards, eyes wide.

"Lucky Banner likes you," Hulk grumbled. "Won't let Hulk smash metal man."

Hulk stomped away, and Tony let out a deep breath. "All right, go ahead: lecture me."

Steve smiled. "No, I think you covered all the bases yourself."

Tony only frowned at him.

* * *

 

"You aren't listening!" Steve snarled.

"Of course not! This strategy of yours is ridiculous!" The faceplate slid up so Tony could glare at him. "Doombots aren't that sophisticated. You're overcomplicating everything!"

Steve turned to fully face him, shield held in front of him in a ready position. "And what would you have us do, Stark? Scatter and let Doom take us out one by one? We need to work as a team."

Tony sneered. "All we need to do is take them out, and we can all do that by ourselves. Doombots are the worst excuse for an AI I've ever seen. They don't stand a chance against us no matter what!"

"Then why are we still standing here?" Steve demanded. "If they're so easy to take down, go show me."

The faceplate snapped back down, and the repulsors began to glow. "Fine, but don't--"

"Area cleared," Clint said through the comm. "Doom cut it off short today. Bots dropped dead as soon as he ran off."

Tony's repulsors powered down. "Did we just miss an entire battle because--"

"Because you were bickering like a married couple again, yes," Natasha cut in, walking up to them.

Tony shrugged as well as the Iron Man suit would allow. "Well, another job well done. Nice work, team." And with that, he took off.

Steve gritted his teeth, but let him go. This was an argument for later.

* * *

 

"We need to talk about this," Steve announced as Tony sipped at his morning coffee.

Tony quirked an eyebrow. "About what, Cap?" he asked, voice gruff with sleep.

"About how we're compromising the team with meaningless arguments."

Tony rubbed at his eyes. " _This_ is going to turn into a meaningless argument."

“Which is exactly why we need to talk about it. If we can’t go a day without butting heads, what kind of team are we?”

Tony took another long sip from his coffee. “We’re still a pretty good team, even when we’re bitching at each other, so does it really matter?”

Steve slammed his fist down on the table, just hard enough to startle Tony into putting his coffee down. “Yes, Tony, it matters! Every time we fight, we put our team, the people we protect, and sometimes our world at risk! It needs to stop.”

Tony propped his head up in his palm. “And what do you suggest we do about it, Spangles? You gonna stop being so stubborn and actually listen to me every now and again?”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “Will you quit being a know-it-all and respect the chain of command?”

Tony laughed. “Fuck, no.”

“Tony, we need to work this out!”

“Maybe you should just bone,” Clint said from his perch atop the fridge.

Tony jumped in his seat. “ _Jesus fuck_. When did you get here?” he asked, at the same time Steve said, “Excuse me?”

Clint shrugged. “Just a suggestion. Deal with the aggression in a constructive way, and get rid of all the UST.”

Steve scowled, but Tony grinned lecherously.

“Well, Cap, what do you say?” he leered. “Worth a shot, right?” He leaned in dangerously close, looking up at him through his eyelashes.

Steve stood his ground, calling Tony’s bluff. “You really think you’re up to that?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Captain Virgin?”

Steve grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him in, crushing their lips together in a bruising kiss. Tony grunted, but didn’t pull back. He caught Steve’s bottom lip between his teeth and sucked, bringing a hand up to slide through the short hairs at the nape of Steve’s neck. Steve groaned and leaned in even closer, hands coming to Tony's hips and holding on like a lifeline. If he was holding too tightly, Tony showed no indication. His nails scraped gently at the back of Steve’s neck, spurring on the other man. They kissed violently, as if this was another fight for one of them to win.

The kiss didn't last long, just long enough to make a point: Steve wasn't the prude Tony thought he was. They stayed in each other's space even after they broke apart, both glaring half heartedly. Tony's lips were a pleasant shade of kiss bitten red, Steve noted, and he had a hard time taking his eyes of them. They were both out of breath, and flushing lightly, in a mix of exertion and arousal.

"Well," Clint spoke up, reminding them of his presence. "I guess I'll leave you guys alone then. And try to forget my role in that little... experiment." He shuffled out of the kitchen, brow furrowed.

A few moments passed in silence before Tony growled, "Fuck it," and pulled Steve in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time really writing Avengers fanfiction. Hopefully the characters aren't too OOC :/


End file.
